BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1960
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1960 (Lackey)
As Amended August 17, 2016
Majority vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 12, 2016) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 23, |
| | | | | |2016) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY: Excludes an agricultural vehicle, as defined, from the
Basic Inspection of Terminals (BIT) program conducted by the
California Highway Patrol (CHP).
The Senate amendments:
1)Add a sunset date of January 1, 2023, to the bill's
provisions, and require CHP, in consultation with the
Department of Motor Vehicles, to report to the Governor and
the Legislature on the impact of excluding agricultural
vehicles from the BIT program, including on collisions
involving excluded vehicles and any traffic safety issues
associated with excluded vehicles by January 1, 2022.
2)Add provisions from AB 995 (Bigelow) of the current
AB 1960
Page 2
legislative session to avoid chaptering out conflicts.
3)Make other technical, non-substantive changes.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires CHP to regulate the safe operation of specified
vehicles, including, but not limited to, the following:
a) Motortrucks of three or more axles with a gross vehicle
weight rating (GVWR) over 10,000 pounds;
b) A combination of a motortruck and a specified vehicle or
vehicles that exceeds 40 feet in length when coupled
together; and,
c) A commercial motor vehicle with a GVWR over 26,000
pounds or a commercial motor vehicle of any GVWR towing a
trailer with a GVWR over 10,000 pounds, except combinations
including camp trailers, trailer coaches, or utility
trailers.
1)Prohibits a motor carrier from operating any of the above
specified types of vehicles without identifying to CHP all
terminals in the state where those vehicles may be inspected
and requires motor carriers to make vehicles and records
available for inspection by CHP.
2)Requires CHP to place an inspection priority on motor carrier
terminals that have never been previously inspected and
provides that non-priority terminals are not required to be
inspected less than six years since their last inspection.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill defined an "agricultural
vehicle" as a vehicle or combination of vehicles with a gross
combination weight rating or a GVWR of 26,000 pounds or less
that is: operated by a farmer, employee of a farmer, or
instructor credentialed in agriculture as part of an
instructional program at the high school, community college, or
AB 1960
Page 3
university level; used exclusively in the conduct of
agricultural operations; not used in the capacity of a for-hire
carrier or for compensation; and where the towing vehicle has a
GVWR of 16,000 pounds or less and exempted this type of vehicle
from the BIT program.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS: The BIT program was implemented to ensure the safe
operation of commercial vehicles by a motor carrier through the
inspection of those vehicles at motor carrier terminals. AB 529
(Lowenthal), Chapter 500, Statutes of 2013, revised the BIT
program to establish a performance-based model for inspections,
where ongoing compliant motor carriers may be inspected only
once every six years and non-compliant carriers would be
targeted for additional inspections. More classifications of
commercial motor vehicles were also brought into the
jurisdiction of BIT inspections. Implementation of the revised
BIT program began January 1, 2016, and fees start at $130 per
terminal annually for the smallest fleets.
This bill would exempt vehicles and vehicle combinations
operated by a farmer used solely or agricultural purposes and
not used for-hire, as long as the gross combined weight rating
of the combination does not exceed 26,000 pounds and the towing
vehicle has a GVWR of less than 16,000 pounds. According to the
author, BIT inspections of vehicles, including commonly-used
pickup trucks and trailers used by farmers in their commercial
enterprises and as their personal vehicles, may restrict an
individual from operating a vehicle critical to his or her
farming or ranching functions. The author states, "Although the
BIT program may be appropriate for California's for-hire
semi-truck fleet, regulating small family farmers and ranchers
using pickups to haul tractors, equipment or a handful of cows
is simply unnecessary."
Committee concerns: Although the exemption proposed by this
AB 1960
Page 4
bill relates only to agricultural vehicles, it is unclear what
the safety impact of that exemption would be. The vehicles
exempted from BIT by this bill would still be subject to other
standards, including motor carrier permit and commercial
driver's license requirements, and if a vehicle or carrier is
found to be in violation, of those standards, they would still
be subject to the appropriate penalties.
The exemption proposed by this bill includes combinations of
vehicles used for agricultural operations with a gross combined
wright rating of less than 26,000 pounds, as long as the towing
vehicle has a GVWR of less than 16,000 pounds. This could
potentially lead to light pickup trucks towing trailers over
10,000 pounds, without being subject to at least periodic
inspection. While use of these combinations may, as the author
states, be limited to incidental and not for-hire use by small
agricultural outfits, this bill would not prevent larger
agricultural operators from using these combinations over long
ranges on highways where other motorists would be exposed to
these uninspected and potentially unsafe vehicles. This bill
would do nothing to distinguish vehicle combinations on the road
operated by farmers from those operated by any other occupation,
making it unclear how CHP or other law enforcement agencies
would be able to determine what vehicles are subject to
inspection and what vehicles are not.
Analysis Prepared by:
Justin Behrens / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN:
0004558
AB 1960
Page 5